July 28

Is it too soon to start counting down to this concert?

Justin Timberlake AND JAY Z?!?!?!
Hello two of my favorite concert experiences together in ONE SHOW.
Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Nate! (Early)

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It's Official

well, it has been official for a while now, I have just been enjoying it to much to take the time to write about it...

I am no longer a single lady.

I gots me a man.

His name is Nathan - I call him Nate.  Some of my friends call him Nate the Great - he deserves that nickname.

Nate and I met the exact way I said "wouldn't work" for me... online.

I had this chip on my shoulder that I wouldn't be able to meet someone who "fit with me and what I am looking for" in an online setting.  Pardon my bluntness and crassness here but I have always said "I want a man who loves Jesus and who isn't offended by the word F**k."  Tall order.  I wasn't sure a man fitting that description existed, and if he did, I thought he surely wouldn't be on any online dating site.  I was wrong.  I am so glad I was wrong.

Nate and I started communicating on New Years Day - a perfect way to start 2013 if you ask me.

We went on our first date on January 8th... it was everything one would want in a first date, or any date for that matter.  That first date was just the beginning of many great times together.  There hasn't been a day since January 1st, when we haven't' spoken - and only a few days when we haven't seen one another.  He has, so quickly, become such an important part of my life.  He is a gift.

Before meeting Nate, I didn't date much... and the guys I did date weren't exactly great.  If I were being completely honest with you and myself, I would say that those dating situations were born from desperation and a deep want to be wanted.  I always swore that I wouldn't settle and that is exactly what I did.  After some close friends called me out on what I was doing, I took a step back and made the conscious decision to choose better - to not date to date but to date to find someone to spend the rest of my life with, to only date men who I would be proud to stand beside and would be proud to have standing beside me.

Being almost 28 and seemingly eternally single was tough at times.  I would like to think that I "did the single girl" well.  I chased my dreams - eventually landing me a great job in the music industry with co-workers that are dear friends.  I traveled, near and far, to new and old places.  I spent time with friends.  I spent time alone.  There were times when I was acutely aware of just how single I was, but most of the time I was content.  I wanted someone to share life with, but I wasn't going to chase it down.  I was willing to wait... even when waiting felt like torture.

I would do the wait all over again if I knew that Nate would be on the other side of all of the waiting.  Nate was worth the wait.  He is kind and caring and thoughtful and consistent and genuine and trustworthy and responsible and so many other things.  He comes from a great family.  He has an incredible work ethic.  He makes me laugh.  He makes me think.  He pushes me to be the best version of me.  We just fit.

It hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies either.  We have had some tough conversations.  We have had to be honest about feelings and emotions.  It has been tough at times, but so worth it.  You always hear people say "communication is key" in relationships... SO TRUE.  Being in a relationship is a great opportunity to learn about yourself.  A pastor of mine once said, "relationships are hard work, but it is the best and most rewarding work you will ever do."  Once again, this man speaks truth.  The work that goes into a relationship is tough, but SO WORTH it.

So, I have been pretty MIA from writing because I have been spending a lot of time with someone who has come into my life and has made it infinitely better.

I am a happy lady.

I am blessed... so blessed!

 

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This guy...

is pretty great.

Yup. He is.

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Finding

I am finding this to be more and more true everyday.

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Thankful

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First of Many

I forgot how fun Universal Studios can be.
Especially when you go with someone special...

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Stealing things on Valentine's Day

One of my most favorite books is Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller.  I read this book back in 2005ish and it has remained at the top of my favorite books list the whole time.  If you haven't read it yet, trust me - go get the book and read it.  Don't ask questions, just do it.

Today's blog post from Donald Miller reminded me why I love the book so much.  I distinctly remember reading the part of the book that Donald references (without referencing his own book in his blog) in the post.  I have linked it on the blog but in case you are the anti-blue link person, I have also inserted it into this post... 

"I used to not like Valentine’s Day all that much. It’s not like I was bitter or anything, I just felt especially single on that day. 
It’s like I was a normal guy all year, then suddenly I was extremely, extremely single.

Ever felt that way?

And if I were more honest, more self aware, perhaps I’d have known then I was a little lonely. I didn’t feel lonely, but looking back, I felt a little incomplete.

Somtimes you don’t know you have a tootheache until the dentist fixes it.

I wish I’d known then, though, the loneliness and feelings of awkwardness were serving a terrific purpose.

Did you know God actually wants you to feel incomplete and lonely for a season?

It’s true. I know it stinks, but that’s exactly what He wants.

If you read through Genesis, you’ll notice God makes man and then, much later, makes a woman. And so for a long season, God made one of the sexes go without the other. By design.

So in the text, God sees Adam and Adam can’t find a helpmate suitable. He’s lonely. He’s incomplete, in a way.

But after God states clearly Adam is lonely and incomplete, HE DOESN’T PROVIDE A MATE! No kidding. He actually ramps up the tension. He actually makes Adam’s loneliness worse!

Instead of proving a mate, God tells Adam to name the animals. And it turns out, that’s a lot of work. There were thousands of species, likely, so we are talking about a year, maybe two, maybe even ten years or more of life without a soul mate and a partner.

And it was worse than you and I can imagine. It’s not like he forgot to get Eve’s number after her met her. She didn’t even exist. In fact, no women existed. He couldn’t even imagine what it was he was pining for.

In Adam’s story, none of the animals were meeting his deep needs. The monkeys were entertaining but terrible conversationalists. And the house cat wouldn’t even make eye contact.

And after all that work and time and loneliness, God put Adam to sleep. After years of allowing Adam to feel lonely, God created Eve.

And it’s a moving scene. For the first time in Scripture, the text breaks into poetry. Adam says, “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” 

He’s saying:
She’s like me! She’s like me!

Would Adam have broken into song if he hadn’t had to experience pain and suffering? It’s doubtful. We tend to value most that which we have to work to attain.

Today, I value my sweetheart so much more because of all the confusion and hardship I had to endure being single. I don’t talk about my romantic life much because it’s hard to read gossip about yourself on the internet. But I will say, all the hardship was worth it. She’s like me, indeed.

On Valentine’s Day, when the hard feelings come, just know they came to Adam. And they only ended up blessing him in the end.

I hope you name animals with dignity, excellence, patience and humility.

People who have this attitude about waiting for and searching for their soulmate make the best soulmates anyway, right? I mean isn’t that the kind of person you want to be with – somebody who puts themselves out there, is happy for others, and has patience and trust that somebody great (that somebody being YOU) is out there being just as positive as they are?

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody. God be with you today."

When Donald wrote, so poignantly, about Adam having to name the animals, and being lonely the whole time, I saw the Scripture in a new and romantic way.  I do believe that some people are never going to get married or be in a long-term committed relationship.  Some people are made to be single and that is OK.  For those of us who are made for companionship... there is a season of loneliness and that is OK.

Today is a day to celebrate love.  Sure, Hallmark (and every other store for that matter)  makes a ton of money from this day, but that doesn't make it any less special or magical. Take time today to let your people know that they are loved. Tell your friends and family that they matter. Show them that you care. Celebrate love. Even if you are single. You never know, it may be your last Valentine's Day as a single person... Don't waste it.

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Someone Special...

...gets to open these tomorrow.

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Something Brand-New

"This is what God says,

the God who builds a road right through the ocean,

who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—

they lie down and then can’t get up;

they’re snuffed out like so many candles: 

“Forget about what’s happened;

don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.

It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,

rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’ 

—the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,

rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,

the people I made especially for myself,

a people custom-made to praise me."

Isaiah 43:16-21 : The Message

 

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